RUTLAND TWP — A single-engine plane crash left one dead on Friday in a remote wooded area of Meigs County.
Gerald Chamberlain, 72, of Raeford, N.C., was pronounced dead at the scene by the Meigs County Coroner Douglas Hunter, according to a news release from the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
Chamberlain, the pilot, was the sole occupant of the 2007 Escapade single-engine, fixed-wing aircraft.
Crews discovered a red and white, single-engine plane near Zion Road just after 1 p.m. on Friday. The plane was found in a wooded area following a search by several firefighters on four-wheelers in the area between Zion Church Road, Smith Run and New Lima Road.
Danny Davis of the Rutland Fire Department said that a call had been received of a low-flying plane which made a left hand turn before the engine stalled at approximately 11:42 p.m. The caller then heard an explosion in the area where crews began the search.
A news release by the Ohio State Highway Patrol added that the witness said the engine sounded like it was sputtering then wet silent seconds before going down in the wooded area.
The Rutland Fire Department, Meigs EMS, Meigs Sheriff’s Office and the Ohio State Highway Patrol were on scene early Friday afternoon. A staging area was set up at Fort Meigs to control the scene.
The crash remains under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Investigators believe the cause of the crash was a mechanical failure based on a witness statement.
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